We previously found that rumination maintains obsessive–compulsive (OC) symptoms. Our goal was to explore the moderating roles of three characteristics in the immediate and intermediate effects of rumination on OC symptoms: trait rumination, severity of comorbid depressive symptoms, and the tendency to misinterpret the occurrence of unwanted intrusive thoughts as meaningful. We reanalyzed our previous study’s data and explored in a sample of 145 individuals diagnosed with obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD) whether any of the three characteristics moderated the observed immediate and intermediate effects of rumination on OC symptoms. Only the tendency to misinterpret unwanted intrusive thoughts moderated the immediate and intermediate effects of rumination on OC symptoms. If this result is confirmed in future studies, individuals with OCD and a high tendency to misinterpret unwanted intrusive thoughts might benefit particularly from supplemental interventions targeting the reduction of excessive rumination.

Personality dysfunction operationalized as impairment in self- and interpersonal functioning is a characteristic of personality disorders. The metacognitive model suggests that dysfunctional metacognitive beliefs are a common cause of psychological disorders, but the relevance and importance of metacognitions for personality dysfunction is less explored and was the objective for the current study. In a sample of 1278 individuals, we conducted a multiple hierarchical regression analysis to test the predictive role of metacognitive beliefs for personality dysfunction. We found a unique and independent contribution from negative beliefs about the uncontrollability and danger of worry and lower cognitive confidence to personality dysfunction whilst controlling age, gender, maladaptive personality traits, big-5 personality traits, emotional distress symptoms, and general psychosocial functioning. The results bring further support for the metacognitive model of psychological disorders which may be relevant for formulation and treatment of personality dysfunction and disorder.

This study was aimed at exploring the possible roles of the cognitive attentional syndrome (CAS) and metacognitive beliefs in moderating the relationships between fear of coronavirus during the pandemic and health anxiety. Because some symptoms of health anxiety may overlap with symptoms of other anxiety disorders, we also tried to ascertain whether our hypothesized relations would be maintained when taking other anxiety disorder symptoms into account. We hypothesized that CAS strategies and meta-beliefs would play a role in the progression from fears of the coronavirus to coronavirus health anxiety. The method done was a cross-sectional study with n = 783 participants who completed questionnaires on fear of coronavirus, coronavirus-specific health anxiety, CAS, and symptoms of anxiety disorders. Fear of coronavirus and coronavirus health anxiety are correlated with medium effect size. CAS and metacognitive beliefs moderate the relationship between fear of coronavirus and symptoms of coronavirus-specific health anxiety. CAS predicts a unique part of health anxiety symptoms variance above symptoms of other anxiety disorders. The results of this cross-sectional study preclude causal inferences but tentatively suggest that CAS strategies may play a role in moderating the relationship between fear of coronavirus and coronavirus-related health anxiety. These relationships were obtained after controlling for variance shared with agoraphobia, social phobia, and general physical symptoms of anxiety.

Repetitive negative thinking (RNT) is a transdiagnostic construct associated with a variety of emotional disorders. To date, disorder-specific self-report measures have been found to capture specific types of RNT. The Persistent and Intrusive Negative Thoughts Scale (PINTS) is a 5-item measure developed to overcome current limitations. The current study aims to translate and validate the PINTS for the Portuguese population. An online sample consisting of 432 participants (213 men, 219 women) completed the PINTS—PT and a set of related self-report measures. Confirmatory factor analysis revealed that the one-factor model fitted the Portuguese version and supported the proposed factorial structure. Reliability analyses showed good internal consistency and excellent temporal stability. Convergent and criterion validity results also showed good values. Overall, the PINTS—PT proved to be a brief and reliable measure for assessing persistent and intrusive negative thoughts, and its use in clinical and research contexts is recommended.

The relations among clinical factors after behavioral activation for subthreshold depression remain unclear. This study was designed to assess relations among clinical factors after behavioral activation for subthreshold depression. This randomized controlled trial study examined 51 university students with subthreshold depression who had completed pre-treatment, post-treatment, and 1-year follow-up assessments. We examined relations among variables using structural equation modeling (SEM) based on maximum likelihood estimation. Fitted index values suggest that the proposed model is valid. Results indicate that the greater increase in activation from post-treatment to 1-year follow-up was associated with increased positive reinforcement from post-treatment to 1-year follow-up. Furthermore, the greater increase in positive reinforcement from post-treatment to 1-year follow-up was associated with decreased depressive symptoms from post-treatment to 1-year follow-up. To prevent worsening of depressive symptoms after behavioral activation, more attention must be devoted to changes in activation and positive reinforcement.